Veld couldn't believe he was doing this. He thought long and hard about who to send. In the end he couldn't ignore the little voice in his head that he was the only one left to remember Valentine. So this was his chance to finally have closure.
He arrived at Nibelheim close to the evening. Veld supposed he could make use of the inn. It would give him a bed and some food at least. A few hours shut eye.
Veld entered the inn. He heard laughter suddenly go quiet. Another gentleman appeared behind the desk. A young girl peeked through the same door he came from.
The sight of them made Veld miss his girl. He had to remind himself she was safe and sound at home. Hopefully she wouldn't try to follow him.
"Room for one, please. And just for the night." Veld spoke kindly.
"Would you like dinner?" The inn keeper offered.
"Some grub sounds good right now. Been a long days travel." Veld signed the book under an alias, then paid for the room.
"Where you heading, stranger?" The girl inquired curiously.
"Tifa, don't bother the poor man."
"No, it's fine. I have a daughter just a little older. And I'm just making my way to Rocket Town."
"Rocket Town? You sure you're geared up enough for that trip? The mountains are dangerous even for locals." The other man raised an eyebrow.
"Trust me, I'll be in good hands if the planet wills it so. At least my daughter is safe, that's all that matters when you get to my age."
There was an odd expression from the father. Veld decided it wasn't his business to dig further. He was given his keys and he made his way to the room. Veld was told that a bowl of stew will be brought for him. It was fortunate they made extra this night.
Veld supposed it wasn't the worst tasting food. He's had worse. The slop Shinra tried to pass as food in the early days left lots to desire. He wasn't going to question what was in it.
After he was done Veld laid himself down for some shut eye. His phone went off two hours before dawn. The retired Turk silenced it, then got himself ready. Silently he left a generous tip at the desk before making his way out.
He had a soft spot for a father raising a daughter on his own. He can spoil her with better clothes. What she had looked like she's got another year before she outgrows them.
Veld made his way to the Shinra Manor. He knew where it was, having studied the layout of this village for years. He made sure to close the gate behind him as he approached.
"Hard to believe it's come full circle." Veld muttered to himself.
He spent an entire day searching. It was old and in a poor state. Veld made sure to avoid the windows of the front so as not to spook the locals.
Just when he was close to giving up halfway through the second day he found something. Curious he activated the switch.
Click.
A sound of something opening towards the library. Veld warily made his way over. And he found a staircase going down.
"Well now that's ominous." He pulled out his gun for good measure before making his way down.
After the spiral down there was an open room. Coffins everywhere. This certainly didn't put his mind at ease at the implications. Veld noticed a room across the way.
He made his way over, wary of the coffins for some reason. Veld entered the room. It was an even bigger library than the one that lead to this underground place.
Veld found some candles. He pulled out a zippo lighter to light them up. Once he got them all lit, he took a better look at his surroundings.
"Well, this is a lot of shit to sort through."
Veld got himself comfortable and began to read.
He didn't know how long he had been down there. Reading and sorting through everything. The majority seem to surround this Jenova, whoever that was, Sephiroth, and the theories of Ancients.
There were brief mentions of Dr. Lucretia Crescent. And with that name there was always one word associated with her. Chaos. As in the Weapon, from the lore and legends.
Veld noticed these, for they stood out on the constant notes of Jenova. He knew that there was a connection somewhere. However Veld for the life of him couldn't find anything.
Instead Veld began to take photographs. He couldn't take everything back with him. But photographs tell everything. He filed them all so they wouldn't be a mess when he went back into his phone to find a mess to sort through.
While yes the process would take longer, it would save him a headache later. Once he felt that he had enough evidence to be gathered about the inhumane experiments, Veld decided to finally make a call.
"I assume this is important if you're calling." Tseng answered.
"You were right. The Manor is a treasure trove of secrets from Professor Hojo. I would send you the files directly, but I don't trust your security."
"You went yourself?" Tseng was beside himself.
"This is my closure damn it. I didn't find anything on Valentine. Just bunch of inhumane experiments done to create Sephiroth. It mentions two others but they were under the watchful eye of Hollander. We can only make a hazard guess who those children are."
"I see. Is there anything else in there before we put it to the torch?"
"Well, there's these coffins. Half tempted to start going through them. But you really want to set this place ablaze?"
"One of those children you suspect is mentioned in those files has gone off on his own. It's granted permission, in order to find Strife. The boy who is Fenrir. He's a POW and General Sephiroth authorized to send Commander Rhapsodos to search. Alone."
"That's...highly suspicious. He's not meant to be alone, right? If I remember correct, he needs to be heavily watched due to his temper."
"Exactly why I'm suspicious of this. I expected Sephiroth to go berserk and search on his own, but after Genesis had a talk to him and Director Lazard he gave in. Rather easily, it seems."
"All right. I'll have one more search before I torch this place. Then I'll make my way back to Midgar and from there find the means you get your hands on these files. I took photos, I'm not taking anything from here. Harder evidence to frame me."
"Very well. Keep me updated." Tseng hung up.
Veld put away his phone. He ventured back out to the open room. He stared at the coffins, briefly wondering what horrors they witnessed.
He wondered if he would find Valentine's bones.
Shaking the thoughts aside, Veld began to open them one by one. Some were empty. A few had monsters sprang up. He quickly took care of them. Even after all this time he was still got it.
Veld reloaded his bullets. He was down to one left. He expected more monsters. Cautiously he pushed the cover off.
Something black and red sat up.
Veld raised his gun, but didn't fire. He was too shocked. The dreams Tseng told him about that Fenrir had. One of them described a man in red cape with dark hair.
He searched and he could see a golden claw.
Those red eyes stared. Not at all bothered by the gun pointed at his face. There was something familiar in the shape of those eyes. That face.
No. That couldn't be.
"...Veld?" The man blinked.
His heart raced. It was that voice. The same voice. There was no denying it.
"...Vincent?" He tested the name.
"So you came. Years later, judging by the way you've aged." He replied, now standing full height.
"Says you! You've hardly aged at all!"
He really didn't. Veld felt a little jealous. Then again he couldn't imagine the horrors Vincent endured.
"Because I died. Lucretia saved me. But then she was forced on leave for work. Hojo took it upon himself to...tweak me further. I was placed here when he got bored."
"Was this during the pregnancy?" Veld guessed. He was still amazed by all of this. That Vincent was truly here.
Alive.
"Yeah. I don't remember a lot in this period. I was always asleep. But I remember bits and pieces."
"Let's go over this later. I have to torch this place. So we need to make ourselves scarce once this place is up in flames." Veld didn't want to stay down here.
"Why burn it all down?" Vincent inquired.
"Hojo aims to someday send Sephiroth here. Probably to learn of his origins. And I don't know about you but I don't want to see what that man can do to turn against Shinra."
"No. He would turn against the whole world." Vincent wasn't sure how he knew this.
"Even worse. Will you come with me old friend? You can choose your path after we exchange information."
"You have details I need to know?" He was surprised.
"About a boy named Fenrir. Let's get this place burning first."
"Very well." Vincent agreed.
So they got to work on the secret library first. The candles were all turned over and soon papers and books caught aflame. They raced up the stairs to the Manor. There they had to get a little more creative.
But eventually the place began to burn.
Carefully they made their escape out the back and ran until they were out of sight of the village. Veld leaned over a bit. He hadn't run like that in a while.
Together they turned to the village. Even in the night they could see people scrambling to try to put the flames out. Veld straightened up then.
"My phone is going to die soon. But here." He held it out after he selected the file of Cloud Strife that Tseng sent earlier this year.
"And who is this?" Vincent studied the photo.
"Fenrir. A boy who went AWOL in the recruit program. He became a mercenary in the Slums and created an entire network of information. Every secret, every dirt on Shinra, he had it all under his thumb."
"This boy?" Vincent was surprised.
The photo showed a timid boy barely at the late teens. His hair stood out with the spikes and platinum blond color. Then those baby blues that revealed his shyness.
"Started having nightmares after he joined. My contact in the company, Tseng, still has his dream journal. One of those entries mentions you by your description."
"What? As I am now?" Vincent turned, surprised.
He felt Chaos stir with interest.
"Dark hair, red cape and a golden claw. Even uses a three barreled gun." Veld chuckled at the insanity of it all.
"I never met this boy. He wasn't even born when I died."
"Hence why he's placed among the Soldiers to keep a close eye on. Well, now he's a POW. Oh, you don't know about the war with Wutai. I was just informed that his first deployment to the front lines he was taken prisoner."
"...Tell me more about this boy."
"You would do better asking my contact. I was more interested in finding closure with you. Or, if you like, you can have a crack at his network if it's still standing."
"I think it's time to return to Midgar."